For those of us in the Nifty Fifty in Australia's Hamilton Island is a world away. But thanks to some creative technology — and clever marketing — it might soon feel a bit closer.

A partnership between Qantas, Hamilton Island, and Samsung has resulted in a new virtual reality experience that allows would-be visitors to check out the island remotely. Still images of the landscape and the ocean can certainly sell the destination on their own, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to also have a 360-degree view of things from the air, land, and sea.

Remember a few months back, when Qantas wanted their customers to wear some bulky virtual reality headsets to experience the best of the Red Roo's destinations? Well, what we didn't realize is that the Great Barrier Reef was not included in this 3-dimensional experience. Seems like an Aussie airline would have that on the top of their list, right? Well, now we can announce that it's finally made the cut!

The airline has partnered with Hamilton Island to bring one of the hottest tourist attractions to first-class passengers flying on 27 of their A380 routes and in some of the international Qantas lounges around the world. The 360-degree experience flies high with the help of Samsung and Rapid VR and allows virtual visitors to get close to the coral while still staying dry.

Good thing the Qantas lounge at LAX just reopened and doubled in size!

On April 1, Qantas begin enforcing long-standing dress codes at the many Qantas Clubs, Business Class lounges, and First Class lounges in their Australian lounge network. Passengers who were turned away due to the tightened door policy include those wearing hi-ves workwear, T-shirts, shorts, and/or flip-flop sandals.

The policy, which requests/demands "smart casual" attire in the lounges, has left passengers confused, not to mention angry, when, at hot weather and vacation-popular airport like Brisbane, they've been turned away for wearing sandals. Qantas takes issue with what Aussies call "thongs," the casual beach footwear that bares most of the foot. Women's dressier sandals and, as far as we can tell, men's Birkenstock or Teva-style sandals do pass muster.

Qantas is banking on the fact that international first class passengers paying beaucoup bucks for the comfy seats won't mind looking silly with a virtual reality headset loaded up with Hollywood blockbusters, destination tours and highlights of new services from the Aussie airline. (Looks like we spoke too soon last week.)

Partnering with Samsung, the red roo is offering high-rolling flyers, both in-flight and on the ground, an option to be transported to a new dimension with the headsets. Whether you're waiting for your plane in the First Class Lounge in Sydney or Melbourne or flying in first on selected A380 flights to and from Los Angeles, passengers can strap on and experience the trial service for three months starting in March.

When Andy Warhol uttered that famous statement about everyone having five minutes of fame, we're pretty sure he didn't foresee those five minutes being dedicated to the live-tweeting of an emergency landing. Since the advent of social media, however, that's exactly what's happened. Every event, especially involving air travel, becomes possible fodder for headlines. This week's big story wouldn't actually be a story at all, if it weren't for a man named Nigel Richardson live-tweeting his flight.

It all began after Richardson tweeted a photo of the Burj Dubai rendered in chocolate at Dubai's Airport, and he then boarded Qantas flight 2, an Airbus A380 that would take 13 hours to travel the distance from Dubai to Sydney, Australia. Well into the flight, the aircraft's air conditioning system malfunctioned and the flight crew performed an emergency descent from 38,000 feet to 9,000 feet.

Last week some great news for Economy passengers arrived from Down Under, as Qantas' introduced new meals for those flying in the back of the plane.

The Red Roo's overhauled menu includes more choices for in-flight grub via their Select on Q pre-order system, now with 50% larger meals and even special treats like ice cream snacks and a welcome drink. Meals not only do away with trays and feature more destination-based items (like BBQ beef sliders to North America and and full English breakfast to the UK), but they'll even surprise with items like a bread roll already infused with butter to eliminate buttery finger fumbling.

We have seen all kinds of innovations and improvements when it comes to the wild, wild world of business class; however, one thing that seems to be overlooked is true comfort from gate to gate. No, we’re not talking about keeping the champagne flowing from takeoff to touchdown with a side of mixed nuts, but rather the ability to keep that seat reclined no matter what stage of the flight.

Qantas is looking to change that, as the kangaroo carrier is in the final stages of introducing a business class seat that would allow sleeping comfort from boarding to departing. It sounds like regulatory approval and associated paperwork are the final steps in the process, but soon sleep can be yours from the moment you sit down to the second before you step off into the jet bridge at your destination.

As we mentioned yesterday, Qantas Airlines landed their Airbus A380 in Dallas yesterday from Sydney. The inaugural flight took about 15 hours, making it the world's longest route. It was also the first official arrival of the double-decker plane for the DFW airport.

Naturally, that's cause for celebration but since everything is bigger in Texas, Qantas really went all out in Terminal D for the plane's arrival, including a special appearance from Qantas Goodwill Ambassador, John Travolta.

iPads, in general, are a good thing for travel. Airline are utilizing them both in the cockpit and cabin to lighten the crew's work load both literally and figuratively, and private pilots can navigate and aviate with greater confidence thanks to some iPad apps. Even sticking an iPad in front of a child may ensure a quieter flight, but there are some instances in which iPads just aren't welcome.

Take, for instance, this weekend's case of the idiot who caused a security scare at Sydney International Airport. The entirety of Terminal 3 had to be evacuated owing to the stupidity of this one person, simply because he couldn't be bothered to look up from his iPad screen to notice he was walking the wrong way into a secure area after getting off his flight.

This terminal, home to much Qantas' domestic service, then had to re-screen all the evacuated passengers, causing a travel delay of approximately one hour.

This week, the world's longest commercial flight route scores a few more points in the world of aviation. Today marks the inaugural arrival of Qantas' Airbus A380, traveling from Sydney to Dallas as Qantas 7, a route previously operated with a Boeing 747-400ER. The jumbo days are over now, in favor of a superjumbo future.

The inaugural flight, the duration of which rings in around 15.5 hours, is scheduled to land at DFW at 1.45pm local time.

Not only will this be the first time Qantas uses an A380 for the route, but it marks the first official arrival of the double-decker plane for DFW Airport. In order to welcome the beast, the airport underwent some minor construction for updates to the international terminal (Terminal D). No doubt the ground crew at DFW are readying the water cannons right now.

It's no secret that John Travolta has his own private piece of airport, but this week marked the first time he let the media in. John invited his good friend Richard Wilkins of Australia's Today Show over to his mansion in Jumbolair, an exclusive neighborhood outside of Ocala, Florida, where avid pilots may park their aircraft right outside their home.

During the interview Wilkins pointed out, "some of us are lucky enough to have a driveway leading up to our property, but this gentleman has not one, but two runways up to his house."